In terms of combat, for example, we're making that more interesting, but a lot of the audience said they want more in terms of exploration, so that's something that's going to be in the game, that we're trying to improve. Lords of Shadow Mirror of Fate and Lords of Shadow 2 will be much more focused on exploration.

The article is here. Some fans of the original canon weren't too happy about the game being linear. You've probably seen such comments yourselves or maybe you were one of the people writing them. Either way, it seems LoS2 will focus more on letting players explore. To what extent isn't specified, and given that

Spoiler:indeed

Highlight this box with your cursor to read the spoiler text.the game will be set in modern times

Spoiler:indeed

the game will be set in modern times

where exactly the player gets to explore is not 100% clear. Still, sounds interesting

since its known its going to be mercury's last kick @ the CV can, @ least pay some homage to the originals, not only in rhetoric & innuendo, but actual gameplay.

its the least they could do, after the last game.

It's a reboot, so they're not going to do most of what you asked. Play Mirror of Fate if you want a side-scrolling game. After playing the demo it seems the game won't be open world. It seems you select levels from the book. Perhaps the levels are bigger though.